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Themunicipalities of Brazil (Portuguese:municípios do Brasil) areadministrative divisions of theBrazilian states.Brazil currently has 5,571 municipalities, which, given the 2019 population estimate of 210,147,125,[1] makes an average municipality population of 37,728 inhabitants. The average state in Brazil has 214 municipalities.Roraima is the least subdivided state, with 15 municipalities, whileMinas Gerais is the most, with 853. Northern states are divided into small numbers of large municipalities (e.g.Amazonas is divided into only 62 municipalities), and therefore they cover large areas incorporating several separated towns or villages that do not necessarily conform to one single conurbation. Southern and eastern states on the other hand, are divided into many small municipalities (e.g.Minas Gerais), and therefore large urban areas usually extend over several municipalities which form one single conurbation. More than a half of Brazilian municipalities have a population of lesser than 10,000 inhabitants.
TheFederal District cannot be divided intomunicipalities, which is why its territory is composed of severaladministrative regions. These regions are directly managed by the government of the Federal District, which exercises constitutional and legal powers that are equivalent to those of thestates, as well as those of the municipalities, thus simultaneously assuming all the obligations arising from them.
The1988 Brazilian Constitution treats the municipalities as parts of the Federation and not simply dependent subdivisions of the states. Each municipality has an autonomous local government, comprising amayor (prefeito) and a legislative body called municipal chamber (câmara municipal). Both the local government and the legislative body are directly elected by the population every four years. These elections take place at the same time all over the country; the lastmunicipal elections were held on October 2024. Each municipality has the constitutional power to approve its own laws, as well as collecting taxes and receiving funds from the state and federal governments.[2] However, municipal governments have no judicial powerper se, and courts are only organised at the state or federal level. A subdivision of the state judiciary, orcomarca, can either correspond to an individual municipality or encompass several municipalities.
The seat of the municipal administration is a designated city (cidade), with no legal specifications regarding minimum population, area, or facilities. The city always shares the same name as the municipality, as they are not considered separate entities. Municipalities can be subdivided, solely for administrative purposes, into districts—often, new municipalities are formed from these districts. Other populated areas are villages, but these have no legal status or regulation. Almost all municipalities are subdivided into neighbourhoods (bairros), although most municipalities do not officially define their neighbourhood limits (usually small cities in thecountryside).
Municipalities can be split or merged to form new municipalities within the borders of the state, if the population of the involved municipalities expresses a desire to do so in aplebiscite.[2] However, these must abide by theBrazilian Constitution, and formingexclaves or seceding from the state or union is expressly forbidden.[2]
